


A Long Teenage Goodbye

by Wesz



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Season 6A, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-09 18:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12281994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wesz/pseuds/Wesz
Summary: Post 6A, no mention of werewolves.Much to Liam's concern, Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia have graduated, meaning this is probably the last summer they will spend together. Therefore, Lydia had decided to make the most of their time by inviting them all to her house. For a whole month. This wouldn't have been much of a problem if Liam hadn't been dealing with liking Scott and with his abandonment issues. Thus far, it merely felt like they were dragging out the inevitable, painted by long summer nights. An inevitable Liam didn't want to face.At the bottom of the staircase, he turned. His breath was coming out in quick puffs and his vision was still a little blurred. Mason closed the living room door behind him and stepped towards his friend, examining him with a small smile. A silence was shared between them, one that apparently said everything, because Mason broke it by saying,“It’s not going to be any easier if you push him away, you know.”Liam pursed his lips into a thin line. He showed a faint shrug, not really knowing what to say to that.Mason stepped closer and laid a hand on his shoulder.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Now that the series has ended, I didn't think I was going to write for the Teen Wolf fandom anymore. Yet, here I am with _another_ Sciam fic. It was supposed to be a short one, but somehow it ended up multi-chaptered, so bear with me. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy. Oh, and don't forget to let me know what you think. ;)

Pointless to say, it had been Lydia’s idea. Of course it had been Lydia’s idea. Lydia was the only one who could come up with these kind of ideas.

It had sparked during their last week at school. Her, Scott, Stiles and Malia were graduating, which meant they were leaving, which meant that this summer was probably the last time they would all see each other. At least for a while. At first, Liam had gone into denial, not really wanting to think about them all not being together anymore. It was a daunting prospect, which was why Lydia’s idea had been met with so much eager excitement from the rest of them.

Her mom was going to be out of town for the next four weeks. Liam didn’t know exactly why. He suspected a long holiday. It didn’t matter either. What mattered was that Lydia had the house to herself for a whole month, which meant a very long holiday before half of them would go their separate ways.

Liam hadn’t been able to decline the invitation for two reasons. One was that he was actually looking forward to spending time with his friends. The other was because one simply didn’t decline Lydia Martin’s invitation. She wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. He would have had to explain why he wanted to pass up on an opportunity to spend their last summer together. Not to mention the grief he would have received from the others. It would have required an explanation and an explanation would have required Liam to acknowledge his feelings. And he wasn’t ready to acknowledge his feelings, because these feelings revolved around a certain Scott McCall.

Ah, yes, Scott McCall, pure human being. Scott McCall, the one who showed up at your bedroom window in the middle night because you couldn’t sleep. The one who would find you at lunchtime bearing chocolates, because he had found out your last grade for History wasn’t that amazing. Scott McCall, Godsend angel, who had forgiveness at the top of his list. The one who had more sense of empathy than the mythological Atlas. Scott McCall, who immediately noticed it when someone triggered your IED. The one who would apologize even when he hadn’t done something wrong. The one who gave out hugs like they were sponsored Facebook ads.

“Are you guys moving house?” Stiles joked after he had opened the trunk to Mason’s car.

Mason chuckled. “Looks like it.”

“No way!” Stiles exclaimed as he rummaged through the back of the car and took out the bags. “You brought Overwatch?”

“Of course I did,” Mason answered matter-of-factly. “I’m not going without it for four weeks.”

“Favorite character?”

“Orisa.”

“Defense,” Stiles replied, shaking his head. “Why am I not surprised?”

Mason folded his arms in front of his chest. “Who do you like to play then?”

“Genji.”

Mason laughed. “Of course you do.”

“What?!” Stiles fired back. “Scott and I make a great team.”

“Because he plays Mercy?” Corey chipped in.

Stiles gaped at him. “How did you-”

“Just a hunch,” Corey smirked, glancing at Mason, who blew a kiss at him.

Liam snickered. Of course Scott preferred to play the healer who sucked at offense. That wasn’t at all surprising.

“So how does it feel being a graduate?” Mason asked as he helped Stiles to take out the bags out of his car.

“Surprisingly normal.”

Liam picked up some of the bags as they took them out. With everything splayed out, it started to dawn on him that his friends were really planning on staying for four weeks. He had thought they would leave at some point, you know? Or at least have some breaks. But then he realized Lydia’s house probably had everything they needed.

A deep sigh slipped passed his lips. He wasn’t going to be able to leave, not even for a day. It would immediately spark questions, which meant he would have to be creative if he wanted to get away from Scott.

“I’m so glad you guys are here!” Lydia exclaimed as the boys walked through the door. “Four weeks, can you believe it? It’s perfect! We’re going to have so much fun!”

Liam performed a mental eye roll, but couldn’t stop a smile from breaking around his lips. Even if these next four weeks would completely suck for him, at least Lydia would be happy. And, to be honest, her excitement was kind of infectious. She could come across like an arrogant bitch at school, but when you were in her inner circle she would literally do anything for you. She was a lot like Scott in that sense, which was odd because they were also completely different people. Lydia was more of a planner; she would do anything to get the group together, whereas Scott was much closer on a personal level, then again, Liam also knew from experience that if you would tell Lydia something private, you would have her undivided attention and she would take the secret to her grave.

“Alright, so where are we going?” Mason asked, pulling the bag he was carrying further up his shoulder.

“Yes, sorry,” Lydia answered, turning around. She pointed up the stairs. “You and Corey can have my bedroom, since you’re a couple…” Her voice trailed off suggestively. “But I will let you know that I do have new satin sheets-”

“Oh, we’re not doing any of that yet,” Corey quickly explained.

Liam and Stiles snorted, hiding their laughter.

“Right,” Lydia said, smacking her lips. “And I dye my hair. Anyway, moving on, Malia and I are sleeping in mom’s room. Scott and Stiles have the guest bedroom. And for you, Liam, I have an airbed, so…”

Liam looked up.

“…I figured you’d want to stay with Mason and Corey, but I also wasn’t sure, so I thought I’d let you decide for yourself. You can put it wherever you want.”

That’s when Scott and Malia appeared in the hallway. They greeted their friends and Liam did the same, averting his eyes when Scott looked at him. He turned to Mason and Corey.

“Do you guys mind?” he asked.

It was a little bit awkward, because Liam knew Mason well enough to know his friend would like to spend some time with his boyfriend, on the other hand, Liam wasn’t feeling sharing a room with Lydia and Malia, since he didn’t want to impose on their privacy and Scott and Stiles were off the table for obvious reasons. This made none of the options seem perfect.

“You can stay in our room,” Stiles interrupted.

Liam’s heart started sinking. He knew he couldn’t decline now that the offer was on the table. Again, it would prompt questions, questions Liam didn’t want to answer—or even think about, for that matter. That was the worst part about liking someone in a group of friends.

“Yeah, we don’t mind,” Scott added, showing a lopsided smile.

“Give those two lovebirds their privacy,” Stiles said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Corey gave him a wide-eyed stare, completely horrified. Liam could tell the poor guy hadn’t gotten quite used to Stiles’ inappropriate and straight forward behavior just yet.

“Oh, okay…” Liam stammered. “Are you…? Is that okay?” he asked his best friend.

Mason grinned back at him. “Yup, fine with me, man.”

Backed into a corner, Liam knew there was no way out. He tried to settle himself down by asking himself why he would mind sharing a room with Scott and Stiles so much. They were friends. Sleeping in the same room didn’t mean anything.

Next thing he knew he was stood in the guest bedroom, putting down his stuff. Lydia had dragged in the deflated airbed and put it on the other side of the room, next to the plug. Fortunately it was electric, so Liam wouldn’t have to blow it up himself. On the other side was a double bed and at first he was surprised when he realized Scott and Stiles were sharing a bed together. But then he remembered they had been friends for years, so it obviously wouldn’t have been the first time.

Liam sighed, still a little bit disheartened by the sleeping arrangements. He tried to focus on the positive. At least the world didn’t do three-person beds, because he definitely wouldn’t have been able to cope with sleeping next to Scott. Thinking that, the situation didn’t seem so bad after all. They would be spending time in the same room, but then again, how much time would they actually spend there? This holiday was focused around their time as a group, not as individuals. Liam could deal with having to sleep in the same room. He would be asleep anyway.

The first night meant introducing the rest of their vacation, which would happen by throwing a party. Even though none of them were old enough to drink, Lydia had decided to scratch all rules, at least for the first night. She had excused it by saying it would make everyone feel more comfortable. It was important to her that everyone felt like they were at home, instead of at a stranger’s house. Having a drink would probably loosen everyone up.

Liam was quite grateful for the idea and, to be honest, and the others seemed to be as well. Probably not for the same reason as Liam, but still.

Lydia’s house was huge. Truth be told, it was more like a mansion. To get to the front door you had to cross the yard, which entailed a small golden path across the grass. The hallway was more like a welcoming venue; the stone staircase was on the right and on the first floor you could find the master bedroom, Lydia’s bedroom, the guest bedroom and a bathroom. Not to mention that the master bedroom had their own ensuite. On the ground floor, the hallway lead to the living room, which held three big sofas, a flat screen TV on the wall, a fireplace, and if you went around the corner you were stood in the open kitchen, where a cooking island was situated in the middle. Across the kitchen, on the other side of the living room, was the sliding door that lead to the garden, which was a completely distinct place by itself. There was grass at the back and a modest pool half the size of the one at school in front, surrounded by four deck chairs. On the far right corner of the pool, close to the backdoor porch, was a bubble bath.

The space of it all made Liam reconsider his first thoughts; maybe he would be able to spend four weeks here. It seemed like there were plenty of places to hide.

Drinking with the gang was a whole new experience altogether. Liam had drunk before during the bonfire night last year, but had never gone to a house party to get smashed with his friends. Dinner had been put on the sidelines. If anyone was hungry they could go into the kitchen and grab something – Lydia had stocked the fridge with enough for everyone. It was weird, there hung a celebratory atmosphere in the air and everyone was just feeling cheeky and excited to start drinking. They had never felt like that before. Maybe the fact that it was something new made them all even more curious.

They sat down in the garden. Lydia had put down a few blankets on the grass with some of Malia’s help, while the boys had settled in. Settling in had included setting up Mason’s Xbox in the living room and playing a few rounds of Overwatch. Liam had felt a little bad at first, because he wasn’t helping out with anything, but that was partly because he expected his mother to come out at any moment and tell him to make himself useful. It was a new (and refreshing) experience to be completely responsible for themselves. It felt liberating and fun. It allowed them to see a different side of each other. Lydia was very motherly, she wanted to make everything perfect. Malia acted like she didn’t care, but by the way she was participating in Lydia’s domestic behavior made Liam think she secretly enjoyed it. Mason and Corey were being touchy-feely, but not in a bad way. Liam could tell they were comfortable in their environment, which probably sparked them to be a bit more daring—a bit more open about their relationship. It was nice to see. Stiles was his usual self. In the few hours he had spent in Lydia’s house he had made it his own; one of his shoes was on the stairs while the other had been neglected next to the backdoor (how they had been separated was a mystery) and everywhere you looked there was something that was either his or had been touched by him. The only one that didn’t seem that different was Scott. He was still humble and careful with Lydia’s stuff and offered to help a few times. Liam imagined him to be like that at his own house as well, given it was just him and his mom. Scott had probably gotten used to having to fend for himself at times.

Scott McCall, considerate family man.

The only thing that was a little bit disappointing about the party was that the alcohol they had been so excited to drink consisted of wine. Unfortunately it would have to do, because it wasn’t like they could get their hands on anything else. Lydia did have another something something, but kept it for the next day.

Before he had arrived, Stiles had considered sneaking one of his dad’s whiskey bottles with him, but Scott had reminded him he would notice. Even though Stiles often prided himself with being sneaky, he was not sneaky enough to go around the sheriff.

Lydia opened a bottle of white—a Chardonnay, according to her a cheap wine that was thick, fruity and dry, but not as dry as Sauvignon Blanc.

“For middle aged people who pretend to know something about wine,” she added as the cork popped from the bottle. She laughed at her own joke and everyone else politely snickered, even though they had no idea what she was on about.

Liam had to admit, there was something about holding a big wine glass that made him feel…classy. Lydia made them all swirl the liquid around in the glass.

“Let’s do a little tasting,” she said, spinning her wrist in gentle motions. “First we have to open up the wine, which is what we’re doing now. The oxygen in the air allowed the wine to breathe and releases its scents and—Stiles, no! No drinking yet!”

The boy grimaced, the bottom half of his face magnified by the glass. “What?” he exclaimed. “Do you really think I like to taste itl? It’s disgusting.”

Lydia let out a sharp breath through her nose, but decided not to pay any more attention to him for the time being. “Okay, now, we’re going to dip our noses into it. Make sure the whole glass is enveloping your nose. That’s it, Corey. Now inhale.” She followed her own instructions and sniffed a few times. “What do you smell?” She sniffed again. “I’m getting a glimpse of wood, a hint of citrus and…something sweet… Peaches. Yes, that’s it. Peaches.”

Liam choked out a laugh when he saw Malia’s face. Her nose was scrunched and her eyebrows furrowed, displaying utter concentration and confusion as to what the hell Lydia was talking about. The wine blew up in his glass and a few drops hit his nose. He quickly put it down and wiped his face.

“Now swirl it around again and take a careful sip,” Lydia instructed. “When the wine is in your mouth, swirl it around again. Let it hit every corner of your palette.”

Liam did as she said, in the meantime keeping a close eye on the others.

“Now open your lips the tiniest little bit and suck in a little bit of air. This will open up the flavors even more.”

Liam angled his head up and carefully sucked in a breath, but next to him Mason opened his mouth too far and Liam watched the wine seep across his chin. This elicited a laugh from Liam and Scott, but the former managed to keep his mouth shut while he giggled, whereas Scott had to quickly turn and spit.

Stiles laughed at his best friend, but Lydia gave him a disappointed look.

“Scott.”

“I’m sorry!” Scott exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I’m really trying, but…”

“That’s how the French drink it, actually,” Corey said matter-of-factly, who had successfully swallowed.

Liam’s stomach was hurting from laughing so much. He quickly sucked in a deep breath through his nose and swallowed, allowing him to finally go into full hysterics. Scott turned to him and ruffled his hair. Normally Liam would have jumped, but his amusement had taken the better of him.

“Savages,” Lydia commented, before taking another sip of her wine.

Surprisingly enough, getting through the first two bottles took them a fair amount of time. Everyone was happy chatting to each other and making jokes, but by the time the fourth bottled opened, they were all starting to feel quite merry. Admittedly, Liam started to enjoy the wine. He was holding his glass with one hand while the other supported his body, which was splayed out sideways. He was listening to Mason’s story when Corey first met his parents. They had a little family dinner and, as Liam already knew, Mason’s parents were very comfortable and loud people. Corey had apparently started off as a shy little wallflower, but by the time the night ended, blossomed into a talkative maniac, who couldn’t stop telling stories of his own childhood.

“I don’t see you like that at all,” Lydia commented. “You’re always so private.”

“She means shy and quiet,” Malia jumped in with a wink. Lydia gave her a look, but Corey blushed.

“I know, I just get a bit overwhelmed in big social interactions,” he explained.

“I get that,” Stiles said. “I get very overwhelmed when interacting with something big.”

Everyone glared at him as his words sank in. His suggestive smirk helped and a second later the penny dropped and they all shouted “Stiles!” in unison.

Liam felt like he had lost the ability to breathe. His sides were tingly and his jaw hurt from laughing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun. His head fell back against something and when he opened his eyes he looked into a pair of the friendliest brown eyes. He quickly sat up.

“You can lay your head down if you want,” Scott offered.

Liam’s mouth opened to say something, hurriedly glancing around if anyone else had heard, but they didn’t seem they had, and then shook his head no.

“It’s okay, thanks,” he brushed it off, taking another sip from his glass.

His heart was instantly beating against his ribcage again. He hated how such a simple interaction could have that effect on him. He thought having been realistic and admit to himself that he wasn’t going to be able to avoid Scott as much would have helped. But it turned out it hadn’t. It seemed like he couldn’t just shove his feelings down like that. He didn’t have that control. They were going to bubble up whenever they wanted to and thinking that made Liam feel hopeless. He wasn’t ready to acknowledge that he liked

Scott. He didn’t want to acknowledge it.

It may have sounded petty, but Liam didn’t find he was much to blame. His experience with love thus far was one girlfriend, Hayden, who had literally left a week and a half ago. That was his only experience, but even if he looked at the people around him, none of them had a great track record when it came to love. His own mom and dad had separated, Scott had lost his first girlfriend, Allison, to a tragic accident, and his second girlfriend, Kira, had moved away, just like Hayden had done. Stiles had been in love with Derek, but, surprise surprise, he had moved away as well. The only successful relationship he had seen develop to date was between Mason and Corey.

The sun had started to go down, casting the famous ‘golden glow’. This prompted Lydia to take some pictures. Everyone got up and crowded around her, showing their brightest smiles, their funniest faces.

“The lighting is so good,” Lydia said, flicking through her phone. “You all look so pretty.”

“You do too,” Stiles said, who was looking over her shoulder.

Liam expected a sarcastic comment to follow, but it seemed like Stiles had actually given a genuine compliment.

“I know,” Lydia replied.

Everyone looked up when they heard a loud sniff. Their eyes all drew into Scott’s direction, who was wiping his eyes with the hem of his shirt. Part of his abdomen was exposed, Liam noticed.

“Scott?” Malia asked.

“You okay?” Mason wanted to know.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” the guy answered, showing a smile. His eyes had glazed over a little and Liam’s heart clenched. “Honestly, guys, I’m fine.”

The group exclaimed a loud “D’aww” and one by one started hugging Scott. Liam pretended like he had seen something in the grass and was digging the tip of his shoe into the ground. When he carefully looked up, he saw Mason looking at him. Liam swallowed and shuffled over, giving Scott a quick hug at well. He noticed the guy’s cheek resting against his; warm and soft. Liam quickly pulled away, not daring to look at him. Instead, he picked up his wineglass and chugged it down, ignoring Scott’s questioning look.

In the meantime, Stiles had switched on some music on his phone and placed it in the middle of the blankets. The beats of EDM filled the air, making some of them bounce and rock sideways ever so slightly. Lydia opened another bottle of wine. Everyone held up their glasses.

“Oh look at all of you now,” she said, voice thick with judgment, before she started pouring. When it was empty, she added it to the pile of glass bottles, which had become an obscene representation of the states they were getting themselves in.

As the sun went down, so did the wine in their bodies. By then everyone had started dancing and was having fun. Mason and Corey were grinding their hips against each other and when the song told them all to get low, it automatically became a competition as to who could perform the best slut drop. Liam laughed, watching Lydia get down while swaying her hips. Her hair was half folded over her face and she pouted her lips at him. Behind her, Malia was following suit. Liam laughed louder and lost his balance, toppling backwards onto the grass. When he turned to the right, he saw Scott dancing, which looked more like a scarecrow trying to break free from its stick. Every move his arms and legs made looked awkward and Liam had to try his hardest not to laugh at him.

Two bottles later it had gotten dark and Stiles announced he had a brilliant idea. He launched himself down onto the blankets and picked up one of the empty wine bottles. He barked at everyone to sit their asses down and when Liam’s brain had almost put two and two together-

“Spin the bottle!”

That.

The others cheered, which they wouldn’t have done if they hadn’t been so intoxicated. Liam’s mouth felt weird and dry, so he picked up his glass. Putting it to his face, he tilted it to his lips too early and almost spilled half of it down his shirt. He managed to save himself at the last moment. Mason saw and grinned at him. Liam put his finger in front of his mouth as to shush him.

“God,” Malia said as Stiles flung the bottle in the middle. “I feel like I’m twelve years old again.”

“You played spin the bottle when you were twelve?” Stiles asked with an astonished look.

The girl shrugged, sipping her wine. “No big deal.”

Liam watched the bottle spin, his brain half-registering that this was actually happening. It hadn’t made the connection yet as to what it might result in—the possibilities it opened up. The spinning stopped and the bottle pointed at Mason. Stiles grinned smugly and crawled over.

When he was close enough, Mason quickly turned to Corey and pressed their lips together instead. The group cooed, but Stiles looked offended. He pouted and fell back into his earlier position, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“If you want to kiss someone, just ask,” Malia told him. “No one cares. Spin the bottle is so old-school.”  
“Yeah, if you played it when you were twelve.”

“Salty bitch.”

Stiles stuck his tongue out and Malia did the same. Lydia giggled.

“It’s alright man,” Scott said, swinging an arm around Stiles’ shoulders. His voice was sounding a bit slurred. “You can kiss me if you want.”

Liam’s eyes flicked up.

Stiles grimaced. “Nah, once was enough.”

Liam’s jaw dropped an inch. Wait, what? Had he heard that correctly? Scott and Stiles had kissed once? Liam’s heart clenched. He looked around, but no one else seemed surprised by that little piece of information.

“Are you saying I’m a bad kisser?” Scott asked.

Stiles shrugged.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Sloppy,” Malia said, giving Stiles a shove.

“Me? Sloppy?” Stiles repeated incredulously. “Only because you kiss like a wild animal. It’s like snogging a coyote.”

“I think her kisses are quite nice,” Lydia mentioned.

“Corey’s are the best,” Mason added. “Really gentle, you know? Just the tip…”

“…of the tongue!” Lydia finished his sentence with him. “Yes!” They high fived each other. “Those are the best.” She shivered, her hands folded around her wineglass.

By then everyone was talking about kissing, even Corey had chimed in. Liam picked up a few sentences here and there every once in a while, mostly because he was switching between conversations, but also because his ears were feeling hot, which was weird because normally he couldn’t feel his ears.

“So is no one going to comment on my kissing abilities?” Scott tried to participate in their discussion.

“I don’t think they are,” Liam answered him when no one replied. He was surprised at how foreign his own voice sounded. “They’re not listening.”

Scott laughed and shook his head, moving his foot under him. He looked at Liam as he took another swig from his glass. Liam watched, noticing how dark and mysterious Scott’s eyes were, which was funny, because there wasn’t any mystery to Scott. Scott was just Scott. Big friendly Scott. Scott McCall, personal teddy bear. Scott McCall, who gave out hugs like they were fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Then Liam noticed something different. It seemed like Scott’s eyes had glazed over again, but before Liam realized what was happening, Scott broke their gaze and turned back to his friends. His thumbnail was scratching the wineglass rhythmically.

Liam blinked. It felt like someone had slapped him in the face and pulled him back to Earth. He cocked his head and looked intently at his friend. There was something going on with Scott, he could clearly tell. For a second Liam wanted to reach out and ask Scott what was wrong, but then he remembered he shouldn’t get too close. He put down his glass and quickly scurried to his feet.

He stumbled a bit when he got up, hurrying himself to get away. He tripped on the doorstep of sliding door and jogged into the living room. It was probably a little dramatic, but he didn’t want to take any risks. The alcohol probably didn’t help his paranoia either. When he neared the hallway, he heard another pair of footsteps hastily follow him, but Liam didn’t have to look around to know who it was.

At the bottom of the staircase, he turned. His breath was coming out in quick puffs and his vision was still a little blurred. Mason closed the living room door behind him and stepped towards his friend, examining him with a small smile. A silence was shared between them, one that apparently said everything, because Mason broke it by saying,  
“It’s not going to be any easier if you push him away, you know.”

Liam pursed his lips into a thin line. He showed a faint shrug, not really knowing what to say to that.

Mason stepped closer and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Why didn’t you let me share your room?”

Taken aback, Mason’s hand slipped down a little. “What do you mean?”

“Earlier,” Liam answered. His voice sounded normal to him again. “Why didn’t you say I could sleep in you and Corey’s room? I get that you want privacy, but…”

“It’s not about that,” Mason interrupted him, waving his accusation away. “Corey and I will have plenty of opportunities to spend time together.”

“Then why?”

Mason sighed, walking around Liam. He sat down onto the bottom step of the staircase and pulled his friend down with him. Liam let him, drawing up his knees and folding his arms around his shins. Another silence.

“I’m trying to avoid him,” Liam admitted softly. A part of him couldn’t believe he was saying it out loud, but on the other Mason was his best friend and he always told him everything.

“Because he’s leaving?”

Liam shrugged. “It’s… It’s okay,” he said, toying with a blade of grass he had found on his jeans. “Everyone leaves. It just makes it easier.”

His friend wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Liam rested his head in the nape of Mason’s neck, staring at their feet and at the wooden floor beneath them.

“He’ll notice, you know,” Mason said. “He’ll notice that you’re pulling away from him.”

“So?” It sounded bitterer than Liam had intended.

“It will hurt him.”

“And it will hurt me if I don’t.”

“So you’re going to be selfish?”

“Is there another way?”

Mason hugged his friend a little closer. “You could tell him.”

“Tell him what?” Liam asked. “That I don’t want him to leave?”

“No, that you like him,” Mason answered. “It might change things.”

Liam sighed, licking his lips. He could smell the wine on his own breath. Mason’s hand was rubbing his shoulder.

“He’s having a hard time as well, you know,” Mason added. “You saw it.”

Liam pulled away a little so that he could look up. He didn’t think that Mason had witnessed exactly what had happened.

“I saw it too,” Mason admitted. “That’s why you ran away, wasn’t it? Because you knew you had to bring it up if you didn’t.”

Liam nodded slowly, embarrassed by the way Mason was putting it. Regardless, he was right.

“I think you should tell him,” Mason said again.

Liam scoffed. “But then what? What good will it do? It’s not like Scott’s going to give up his dream to become a veterinarian only to be with me.”

Mason snorted. “Maybe he won’t, but it might make things better. You two could actually enjoy your time together, here, now, and maybe work something out. Maybe that way it won’t hurt that much in the end. I think Scott’s struggling with the same feelings, you know.”

Liam bit his lip. Even talking about it, about the inevitable prospect that someone was going to step out of his life again frightened him, hurt him. He wondered why it always had to be this way, had often wondered that. He hated how talking about it made him feel small and vulnerable.

“Is it okay if I don’t want to take that risk?” he asked quietly.

He could see the hesitation in Mason’s eyes, because, no, it wasn’t okay. Liam knew that. He knew it was unfair to ask, knew he was being selfish for wanting to pull away from Scott without explaining to him why. He was taking the easy way out and at the same time he was being a horrible friend, because he was going to leave Scott to deal with his own stuff. Then again, Scott did have the others he could talk to.

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

Liam let out a deep breath he didn’t know he had been holding, this time wrapping his arms around Mason and hugging him back.

He would do it gently, make sure Scott wouldn’t notice as much. He would try to act normal around him and talk to him, instead of running away, but when things would start to get too personal, Liam would try to avoid the topic. After all, it was emotional distance that he needed, not physical distance. He just needed for his feelings to fizzle out. He didn’t have to be a dick around Scott, because the opposite of love wasn’t hate. It was indifference. So that was what he needed to be: indifferent, and he couldn’t act indifferent if he was going to run away every time.

“Come on, let’s go back,” Mason said, letting go of Liam.

Both boys got up and once on his feet, Liam noticed he was still a bit tipsy. Talking to Mason had sobered him up ever so slightly, but the world was still moving a little slower than his mind. Or maybe it was the other way around.

“That wine sure does the trick, doesn’t it?” Mason giggled.


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning Liam woke up with a headache and he wasn’t the only one. Stiles was groaning in his bed and kicking the sheets off while Scott rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Liam turned on his side. He couldn’t really remember how exactly the night had ended, only that Scott had still had that look in his eyes when he and Mason had come back from the hallway. But instead of saying something, Liam had taken a deep breath and gone back into party-mode.

His head felt fuzzy and his eyes were still thick with sleep. He hadn’t slept very well, because he hadn’t gotten used to the new environment yet. It was a common problem, like his body had to get used to the new sounds and smells the house was giving off or else he kept being alarmed. Needless to say that was incredibly annoying, not to mention when he had had too much to drink.

Stiles grumbled something inaudible and got up. He pulled on sweatpants and a shirt and exited the bedroom. At first, Liam thought he was going to come back, but it seemed like he had gone downstairs. Heroic, Liam found, because he was far from ready to get up. If anything, he doubted if he was going to get up at all.

“Your bed’s flat.”

Liam turned onto his other side to see Scott had sat up. His bare toes were creasing the carpet and he was looking at the airbed with a hard look on his face, like he was trying to solve a difficult equation.

Liam now moved as well – slowly, very slowly – and noticed that, indeed, his airbed had deflated overnight. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t slept well.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked.

“Hungover,” Liam grumbled, rubbing his head.

“Same.”

Liam gave a broken smile and attempted to lie back down again, even if it was on the floor, but felt his lower back was hurting.

“Do you want to sleep in here for a bit?” Scott asked. “Stiles is not coming back. He needs to be near the tap.”

Liam looked at Scott and hesitated. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to share a bed with him, but to be fair, his whole body was hurting, so he got up.

Scott straightened out the covers and opened them, moving his legs inwards so Liam wouldn’t crawl on them. The boy laid down and the second his head hit the pillow he groaned. It was like the mattress had absorbed him into another thousand mattresses.

“It’s memory foam,” Scott commented. “Really nice.”

Liam moaned in response, his eyes closed but his face turned to Scott. The fuzziness in his head obstructed him from thinking clearly, which was actually quite nice. It meant he couldn’t freak out over the fact that he was lying in bed with Scott McCall. Scott McCall, savior of the hungover, selfless provider of comfortableness.

Scott moved back down again as well, rolling onto his side and folding his hands under his cheek, facing Liam. The younger one cracked an eye open in response. Scott was staring at him, biting his lip and Liam noticed he had that same look on his face as last night, but Liam was too tired and too weak to move. This time, there was no running.

“Did you have fun last night?” Scott asked.

“I did,” Liam answered, closing his eyes again.

“I’m sorry I was a bit down,” Scott said.

Liam swallowed. This was typical Scott McCall. You could kick him in the shin and he would still say sorry for being in your way. He was humble like that. A quality that actually made Liam’s heart ache.

Looking at Scott’s face, Liam started to feel guilty. He knew he had to work on detaching himself emotionally from Scott, but how could he resist those genuine apologetic eyes? Scott looked like he was about to cry again and Liam felt bad for him.

“It’s okay,” he therefore said. “But why were you?”

Scott shrugged a little. “I guess it just hit me that we’re all leaving, you know?”

Liam hummed, trying to ignore the alarm bells that went off in his head at the word ‘leaving’. Wait a second, though, where did Scott get to go off and be sad about leaving? He was the one doing the leaving!

“It’s your decision, though.”

Maybe it had come out harsher than he had intended, but it was true nonetheless. Scott was the one abandoning everyone, not Liam. So why should Liam be the one to comfort him? That just unfair. If Scott wanted to leave, he wasn’t allowed to feel sad over it.

Liam turned onto his other side. He didn’t want to look at Scott anymore. He was tired and needed to get a few hours of sleep, maybe then he would be able to think more clearly. It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours yet and already a lot had happened. He had four more weeks for all of this to come crumbling down, so he might as well make the most of it before it would.

And with that scary thought, he fell back asleep.

When he woke back up, the room had flooded with sunlight. He could hear muffled voices downstairs, indicating the rest of his friends had all gotten up. Liam sat up slightly. His head was still pounding a little bit, but it was definitely better than a few hours earlier. Now he was just thirsty, really thirsty. He pictured jumping into a barrel of ice cold water and drinking it all.

Next to him, Scott was still snoring quietly. He had kicked off the covers and his bare chest was moving up and down in gentle motions. An image slipped into Liam’s mind, a possible scenario where he would have woken up with his head on Scott’s upper body and Scott’s arms around him. Liam’s heart throbbed for a second and he shook it, but that was a bad idea and Liam winced at the pain.

Scott stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He showed a lopsided smile and whispered, “Hey.”

Liam said “hey” back, which felt incredibly lame, and got up. He pulled on some comfy clothing and left the bedroom.

When he came downstairs, everyone else was lying on the sofas and on the floor. They were all looking at him as he entered the living room. Liam frowned a little and sat down on the arm of the sofa, next to Mason.

“How are you feeling?” his friend asked.

Liam scoffed. “Rough.”

“Join the club,” Stiles grumbled.

“What time is it?” Liam asked.

“Just passed one,” Lydia answered, checking her phone.

“Oh my God.”

“Yup, you guys slept for a long time.”

“My airbed’s broken,” Liam said.

Lydia’s eyes widened. “Is it? Oh, Liam I’m so sorry! We’ll fix that, I promise. Surely we can work something out.”

Liam smiled, not having the energy to think of any solutions. Silence swirled down around them again as snow. It was clear everyone was as hungover as Liam was, which was actually quite amusing. There was comfort in numbers.

“So what’s the plan for the day?” Malia asked, she nuzzled her head against Lydia’s shoulder.

“No activities, please,” Stiles moaned. “Not today.”

“I thought we could just sit outside and go swimming,” Lydia said. “Since we’re all sick anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Malia said, getting up.

Miraculously, Stiles did the same. They went back upstairs to put on their swimming clothes. Lydia and Corey followed them as well.

“You coming?” Corey asked Mason.

But his boyfriend shook his head. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

Corey nodded, walking back over to peck a kiss onto his cheek. They smiled and Corey disappeared.

“Looks like you two are doing well,” Liam commented.

“We are,” Mason said, the smile on his face still there. “Corey had needed some convincing at first, but I think now he’s glad he came.”

“He’s quiet, isn’t he?”

“With other people, yeah,” Mason acknowledged. “He’s just always a little bit awkward at first, but he’ll come around. He’s a great guy, so, I’m not worried.”

Liam nodded, looking at the living room door as if Corey was still standing there.

“How are you and Scott?” Mason asked. Liam turned back around. “Did you talk? Stiles came down at like half past ten, so it was just the two of you there for a while.”

Liam sighed. “I slept with him.”

Mason’s eyes widened. His head moved backwards slowly so he could look at his friend. Then Liam understood how that sounded. He quickly threw his hands up, palms up.

“Slept. As in, sleeping. I slept on Stiles’ side because my bed was dead.”

“Jesus Christ, I thought you meant-”

“I know, but no, we didn’t.”

Mason chuckled, shaking his head. Then he turned serious again. “So, did you talk?”

Liam shifted uncomfortably. Mason scooted to the side so his friend could sit down next to him. Liam pulled the sleeves of his hoody over his hands.

“He wanted to, I think,” Liam admitted. “He said it suddenly hit him last night that he was leaving.”

“What did you say?”

“I reminded him it was his decision.”

“Liam…”

The boy puffed out his cheeks before deflating them. “I know. It wasn’t nice,” he sighed, slightly irritated. “But I’m right. It is his decision, so he doesn’t get to be sad over it.”

Mason frowned. “Everyone’s sad,” he reminded him. “Scott just shows it more easily.”

“You’re not sad.”

“Of course I am,” Mason said, looking offended. “But I know it’s part of life.”

“You mean that you don’t have abandonment issues.”

“Hey, come on now.”

Liam sniffed. He could feel a lump growing in his throat. Why was he being so bitter about all of this?

“I know that’s what it is,” he said quietly, toying with his sleeves. “I know I have a problem.”

“Then talk about it,” Mason said. “Share how you’re feeling with the others, with Scott.”

“I don’t want to.”

Now it was Mason’s turn to sigh. Liam cringed. If Mason would start to get annoyed with him, things might get worse. Liam knew he was acting like a child, constantly moaning about this, but unwilling to do anything specific about it. It was like he was throwing a ball and asked Mason to get it for him, only to then run and pick it up himself. It was stupid.

“I’m sorry that I’m being so difficult,” Liam said. “I know I’m being weird about this.”

“You’re not weird,” Mason replied. “Difficult, yes, but not weird.”

Liam scoffed, but smiled nonetheless.

“You can always talk to me, you know.”

“I know.”

Mason pulled him into a hug and Liam hugged him back, letting out a deep breath. He pressed his mouth against Mason’s collarbone. At least he knew Mason would never leave him.

“You’ll work through it,” Mason said when they had let go of each other. “I’m sure of it. You just need time.”

Liam nodded. He wasn’t a hundred per cent convinced yet, but he knew saying that wouldn’t do either of them any good.

They heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A second later, the living room door swung open and Stiles, Malia, Lydia and Scott came out wearing their swimming gear. Stiles was shouting and running across the room. His hungover had clearly worn off. Liam and Mason shook their head, laughing.

“Come on,” Mason said, getting up. “Let’s go outside.”

Lydia’s pool was big enough for the seven of them. Actually, it was big enough to train an entire swim team. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear. It was boiling hot outside. Mason, Corey and Liam were bouncing a beach ball around in the pool, while Scott and Stiles had their eyes closed in the Jacuzzi. Lydia had a sunhat and glasses on and was reading a book while Malia next to her was putting on sun cream.

“Don’t forget your ears,” Lydia said, glancing up from her book. That seemed to remind her of something and she sat up. “Stiles,” she shouted across the garden, “Have you put on sun cream?”

Stiles would probably have heard her if she had been speaking normally, but Liam knew it was a way to establish dominance. Stiles wasn’t very keen on authority.

“No!” Stiles shouted back.

Case in point.

“You will burn,” Lydia replied suggestively.

Stiles twisted his neck so he could look at her. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

Lydia gave him a look. “Well okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Corey, you too, put it on when you come out of that water.” She got up from her deckchair and went inside.

Liam snickered, blowing bubbles as he held half his face underwater.

“Is she always like this?” Corey asked quietly.

“I know,” Mason answered. “You don’t notice it as much at school, do you? I think we’re going to see a lot of different sides to each other over the next few weeks.”

“Really?” Corey asked, now seemingly more intrigued. “What side do you have that I haven’t seen?”

“Oh, I know!” Liam jumped up, swimming closer.

“Liam,” Mason said warningly.

“At some point he’ll explode over the mess we make,” Liam said. “No, really, you won’t see it coming and then all of a sudden he just starts bitching and will give everyone tasks to clean up. And I’m not talking picking up your dirty socks, no, I’m talking bleaching the bathroom and tidying the closet.”

Corey chuckled, giving Mason an amused look. “Is that so?”

“You’re a dead man, Liam Dunbar,” Mason said to his friend before turning to his boyfriend. “He’s exaggerating, really, I don’t mind a mess every once in a while.”

“Every once in a while,” Liam repeated.

Mason flung his arm and splashed water at him, but Liam quickly dove under. When he resurfaced, Mason and Corey were kissing.

“Who wants mimosas?!” Lydia squealed. Her flip flops made a clapping noise as she walked across the tiles. The tray in her hands held a big jug with a yellowy orange liquid and glasses.

“I do!” Malia exclaimed, holding up her hands eagerly.

“Christ, she’s like a suburban housewife,” Corey mumbled. Mason and Liam snickered.

“I heard that, white boy,” Lydia said, putting down three glasses on the side of the pool. “You’ll thank me later. This is the perfect hangover cure.”

“What’s in it?” Mason asked, swimming towards the edge so he could have a taste.

“It’s prosecco and orange juice,” Lydia answered. “But don’t worry, they’re not strong.”

Stiles frowned. “Really? You’re giving us more alcohol?”

Lydia waved her hand, going around the pool. “Oh, hush, it’s just a little splash.”

When everyone had been taken care of, she sat back down into her chair, pouring herself the last one. Liam took a sip of his and, he had to admit, it was quite nice, like sparkling orange juice. With a bit of a kick.

“So, since we’re all together,” Stiles said. Everyone turned to him. “Scott, do you want to talk about yesterday?”

Scott’s head snapped forward. He moved in the bubbles, drawing up his knees. “Ah, man, come on,” he said. “Please don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“About what?” Malia now wanted to know. “Your crying?”

Scott blushed.

“Yeah, come on Scott,” Lydia said, though her voice sounded more sincere. “Tell us what’s wrong.”

Scott shrugged, squinting against the sun. “It’s nothing bad. I was just a little sad. I think it was the wine.”

Lydia nodded. “That’s okay. I get that sometimes.”

Liam moved to the corner of the pool, outside of everyone’s visual range. He knew where this conversation was going and he didn’t like it.

“So why were you sad?” Corey asked.

For a second Liam was surprised Corey had been the one to directly address it, but the more he thought about it, the more it actually made sense. Corey probably bonded more easily with people by having a good conversation, instead of just having mindless fun in a group.

Scott sighed. “It just hit me that we’re all going our separate ways soon.”

“Well there’s nothing wrong with that,” Lydia said. “That’s just how things go.”

Scott pursed his lips, scrunching his nose. “But what if we don’t see each other anymore…”

“Oh, come on!” Malia exclaimed, while Stiles splashed water into Scott’s face.

“Of course we will still see each other!” Lydia said. “Don’t be silly. We’ve got breaks, like over Christmas and Easter, not to mention summer. We’ll see each other plenty of times.”

“Yeah man,” Stiles added, ruffling Scott’s hair. “And we’ve got Skype and Whatsapp. We can talk to each other whenever we want.”

Scott smiled shyly. “Yeah, I know. I know you guys are right,” he said, voice trailing off. “I’m just really going to miss you all okay? You guys are my best friends.”

Liam swallowed when Scott’s eye caught his for a second. The boy turned away, dipping the back of his head into the water, wetting his hair. He couldn’t believe Scott was just openly talking to everyone about his feelings. A sense of resentment bubbled up in his chest, but he also hated himself for that. Just because he wasn’t brave enough to talk about his issues, didn’t mean Scott wasn’t allowed to. God, he was being so incredibly selfish and he knew that, but still he couldn’t help it. It was really starting to mess with him.

“Since we’re on the subject,” Corey suddenly jumped in. “I really like you guys too.”

He was rewarded with a loud “D’aaw” and Lydia added, “Oh, Coco, we like you too. Now come here and let me put some sun cream on you.”

Mason chuckled and Corey obeyed, hauling himself up out of the pool. Lydia already had the tube in her hands and waited for Corey to towel off. He laid down on the chair next to her.

“Anyone else feeling all sappy?” Stiles offered. “Now’s your chance.”

Liam’s eyes met Mason’s for a split second, but he ignored him and quickly looked away. Mason cocked his head towards him and in that moment Liam felt like everyone was looking at him. There was a silence he experienced as awkward, but he doubted if the others felt the same way. The air around him felt heavy, like the sun was weighing down on him. He pretended to be interested in the movements his hand was making underwater.

“Alright then,” Stiles said, closing his eyes again and going back to his relaxing routine. Mason swum off as well and Malia stole Lydia’s book.

Liam exhaled quietly, carefully glancing around, which was a bad idea, because Scott was still staring at him. Liam cringed, but the guy flashed a dorky smile and for a moment Liam wondered if he knew.

“What’s for dinner?” Malia asked suddenly, putting down the book she had been reading for a solid five seconds.

Lydia turned. She was sitting on the edge of Corey’s chair, rubbing lotion onto his back. “What are you looking at me for?” she asked.

“You’re the hostess.”

“So? I told you, you can have whatever you want. You know where the kitchen is.”

“Yeah, but still, this whole thing was your idea.”

Lydia huffed, but Liam doubted if she was actually annoyed. There seemed to be certain chemistry between the two girls. Lydia liked to pretend she wasn’t really taking care of them, but Malia knew she found pleasure in that. She liked to make decisions and Malia…well, Malia was hungry, so it was a win-win.

“How about a barbeque?” Lydia proposed.

Malia smirked. “Perfect.”

“Alright, but we’ll have to go out and buy some things, so you’re driving with me.”

The girl groaned, but accepted her fate nonetheless.

“Better not finish this then,” Lydia thought out loud, putting aside half of her drink. “I have had a little bit, so we’ll have to wait for at least another hour. Does anyone else want to come food shopping?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Stiles answered.

Everyone paused what they were doing and looked at him.

 “I told you we were going to see different sides of people,” Mason said to Liam from the side of the pool.

He nodded. Turned out Stiles could actually be a nice guy, not that he wasn’t normally, but so far it had been a compliment for Lydia yesterday and now he was offering to help out and both those things had only happened in the space of a day.

Then Liam wondered what side of him would come out during these weeks. Everyone already knew about his IED, so it couldn’t be that. Then again, he hadn’t had a full episode with them, except for that one time when on the lacrosse field with Scott and Stiles, so maybe he was going to explode at some point. That thought worried him. He always felt embarrassed and guilty after an explosion. He didn’t want to have to deal with that in front of his friends. They would probably be fine with it, you know, understanding and all, but still. It wasn’t a nice thought.

Or maybe he wasn’t going to last these four weeks. That was an option. What if the constant talking about leaving would scare him off? God, it sounded so pathetic that way, ‘scare off’. Like he was some puppy everyone had to be careful around.

He swallowed, noticing his thoughts were spiraling again. He pulled himself out of the pool, grabbed his towel and went inside. His mind immediately brought him back to their earlier conversation and something green pulled on Liam’s heartstrings. He was jealous. Jealous and irritated that Scott had been able to, so easily and so openly, talk about his feelings. On one hand, Liam wished he could do that, wished he could just come out and tell everyone that he was scared shitless about the inevitable fact that they were all leaving. That he hated that his whole holiday just felt like they were dragging out the inevitable, as if spending a lot of time together now would make everything easier in the end. Hell, it would only make everything harder for him.

On the other hand, Liam didn’t want to talk about his feelings, because it meant they would become real. He didn’t want to tell Scott that he liked him, only so that he could be with him for a few weeks and then have him leave again. Or worse, so that Scott could reject him. Then this month would really suck, he betted.

He rubbed the towel across his face, going into the hallway and up the stairs. He needed to be alone for a minute, away from all the fun. He was about to go into his bedroom when he realized he might run into Scott there, so instead he turned around and opened the door to Lydia’s room. He snickered, because Mason and Corey’s stuff had already been scattered all over the place.

Liam folded his towel and placed it on the bed, not wanting to soak the sheets. He sat there for a while with his hands on his knees, staring at the floor, trying to straighten himself out. Why was he having such a hard time all of a sudden? Maybe it was the drinks. Maybe that was heightening all of his emotions.

The door cracked open and Liam looked up. Corey startled and stammered, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were in here.”

“It’s fine,” Liam muttered.

Corey swallowed. “Lydia told me to put on a shirt after all,” he explained, as if he had to justify himself for being in his own assigned room. Liam could feel the boy was examining him. He sniffed and wiped his nose.

“Are…are you okay…?” Corey asked carefully.

Liam shrugged, unable to look at him. The fact that he asked him so directly made Liam’s throat close up again. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know Corey well enough or didn’t trust him enough that he didn’t want to talk about it. He just didn’t want to talk about it in general. His conversations with Mason had proved Liam wasn’t the easiest person to talk to and he was a little bit ashamed by that. He didn’t want Corey to know that side of him.

But Corey didn’t seem to pick up on that, because he sat down next to him anyway.

“You know,” he started. “It took me a while to accept that I liked Mason.”

Liam looked up.

Corey smiled shyly. “It was strange. I knew I liked him, but I didn’t want him to know that. I guess…I think I was a bit scared.”

The sincerity in Corey’s voice made Liam ask why.

Corey folded his hands in his lap. “I think because I assumed that he hadn’t noticed me, at all. I guess I tend to think that a lot, you know? That people don’t see me? I mean, they talk to me and I’m sure they know I’m there, but they never really _see_ me.”

Liam nodded.

“At first I thought there was just something wrong with me. That I didn’t have much personality, so people didn’t really know me, but then Mason started talking to me...”

“He really likes you,” Liam said, clearing his throat. “I mean, really likes you.”

Corey smiled. There was a soft clicking noise in the background from his nails that kept ticking against each other. “I know,” he said. “It turns out I’m just shy.” He chuckled at himself. “It makes me feel invisible sometimes, but Mason actually taught me that’s also because of my parents.”

Liam’s eyebrows knitted together.

Corey swallowed. “They…” he cleared his throat. “They never really ask me anything. You know, how my day has been, how school is going…things like that.”

“So you feel like they don’t notice you?” Liam asked tentatively.

“Yeah…” Corey trailed off. “I guess so.”

Liam half-smiled at him, putting a hand on Corey’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Corey quickly waved his apology away. “That’s not why I’m telling you this. I mean… What I mean is, if it wasn’t for Mason, I wouldn’t have understood those things about myself, you know? Talking to him, allowing him to get to know me, admitting to him that I liked him…it all worked towards something that was way deeper and way more important.”

Liam’s hand dropped and he looked away. He suddenly understood why Corey was telling him this.

“Did Mason tell you?” he asked, a resentful undertone in his voice.

“No,” Corey answered solidly. “He hasn’t told me anything.”

Liam nodded slowly, letting out a deep breath, the tiniest bit relieved that his best friend hadn’t told on him.

“I tend to notice things,” Corey explained. “I guess that’s one of the perks of being quiet,” He scoffed.

“You think I should tell him, don’t you?” Liam asked matter-of-factly. A part of him wanted Corey to get it over with, but another felt at ease and was actually enjoying the air between them.

“I think it’s difficult,” Corey admitted.

That made Liam look up.

“It’s difficult to tell someone you like them,” the boy continued. “I know it is, but I do think it will help.”

A smile broke across Liam’s lips. “Mason thinks so too.”

“Well, Mason’s very smart.”

Liam chuckled, nodding his head. “Yeah, he is.”

They sat next to each other like that for a while longer. Corey’s words were having an effect on him and Liam wondered why. What exactly was so special about Corey that made him reconsider his plan? Was it just because Corey had gone through something similar? His and Mason’s relationship was the only one Liam knew to be a good one and if it had grown like that, by Corey being honest to himself and by giving Mason a chance, was there a chance Liam’s feelings about Scott actually contained the right formula?

To be honest, Liam didn’t know. He felt like he was constantly in conflict. It was like his heart and his mind weren’t in synch and therefore he didn’t know what to do.

He then remembered that Corey was still sitting next to him. He was impressed that Corey had been willing to share his story and then Liam realized that was probably a really big thing for him. He turned around and stuck out his arms.

“Oh,” Corey said, backing away slightly. His face turned red, but Liam knew it wasn’t from his sunburn. “I’m still really sticky from the cream.”

Liam smiled. “I don’t care,” he said. “Bring it in.”

Corey hesitated, but then moved closer. Liam wrapped his arms around the boy’s small frame. He felt Corey’s chin on the back of his neck and Liam rubbed his spine, which felt smooth from the cream.

“Thank you,” Liam said softly.

“You’re welcome,” Corey mumbled in return.

They hugged for a second longer until it became awkward. When they pulled off, their bare chests made a slick noise from being stuck together. The boys laughed, their cheeks slightly colored.

“Are you coming downstairs with me?” Liam asked after getting up.

“Yeah, I just have to grab a shirt,” Corey answered, rummaging through his suitcase.

Liam followed him down the stairs, their conversation still vivid in his head. He had to admit, Corey was a great guy. He felt lucky that Mason had found him. Even though Liam had never expected to open up to him so easily, he was glad he had. There was something genuine about Corey that made him easy to trust. It probably had something to do with the fact that Corey turned out to be so honest about himself. It was just easier to be vulnerable around someone when they were being vulnerable too.

When they entered the living room, Scott and Mason were sat glued to the TV. Lydia, Malia and Stiles had apparently left for the store, so the other two had seen the perfect opportunity to play Overwatch.

“Hey guys, come sit, Mason taught me how to play Orisa and I’m destroying it,” Scott said excitedly without moving his eyes from the screen.

Liam chuckled and sat down. Mason asked him if he was okay and he nodded. He then turned to Corey and kissed his cheek.

“Well done,” he whispered into his ear.


	3. Chapter 3

The barbeque was lit. They had dragged the dining table and chairs outside, next to pool, and all of them had helped set up. Stiles was in charge of grilling, because apparently he had learned that during his time as a boy scout, which had opened up an entirely new conversation altogether.

Liam couldn’t believe how much talking to Corey had helped. He felt a hundred times better, dare to say even a little optimistic. Granted the weather might have increased his good mood as well. It was still warm. The sun would start to go down in an hour or so. Everyone had been cured from their hangover, which was a big relief. Lydia obviously argued it was because of her mimosas, but Liam still wasn’t sure if it had been a good idea to cure a hangover with more booze. He figured they shouldn’t do it too often.

Liam was sitting at the table across from Scott. On his right was Malia, at the head, and on his left Corey and Mason. Lydia was sitting next to Scott. She had taken off her sunglasses and was comparing her tan to his, which hadn’t been a good idea, because of course she didn’t win that one. Scott being Scott, apologized, which made Liam roll his eyes. But he wasn’t really annoyed, because from his angle the light was hitting Scott’s hair in a way that made it look like he had a halo around his head, which was really fascinating. When the guy suddenly flicked his eyes over at him, Liam blushed, looking away.

Only when Stiles served the first round did they realize how hungry they all were. They hadn’t really eaten anything solid all day, so the grilled meat was welcomed with open arms…and mouths.

“Please leave some for me,” Stiles whined as he watched his friends eat.

“Oh, can’t promise anything,” Malia said, leaning over the table to get another burger onto her plate.

Stiles pouted, watching the food he had been working so hard for disappear in what seemed like seconds.

“Don’t worry,” Lydia soothed him. “We’ve got plenty. And if it’s not enough, you’ll have to stuff yourself with marshmallows.”

“You bought marshmallows?!” Mason exclaimed.

Lydia nodded and he cheered. Corey gave him a look, because up until this far he had been unfamiliar with Mason’s love for marshmallows.

“Where did you want to roast those?” Stiles asked.

The rest of his friends frowned, looking at one another.

“I’m confused,” Lydia said.

“Well, where do you want to build the campfire?”

“You’re not building a campfire in my backyard.”

“But-”

“Stiles.”

“Ha-”

“We can roast them over the barbeque,” she decided. “When we have finished eating.”

“But it’s not the same,” Stiles argued.

“Everyone okay with drinks?” Lydia asked, flat out ignoring him. She looked around the table.

Hiding their laughter behind their cutlery, everyone quickly nodded.

They finished dinner an hour later, when the sun had started to go down. The sky colored a mixture of pink and orange and Liam admired the beauty for a second. Lydia went to the kitchen and came back with a bag of marshmallows and a packet of wooden sticks, as promised. Unfortunately the barbeque was too small for all of them to huddle around it, so Mason, Corey and Liam cleared the table while Scott, Stiles, Malia and Lydia roasted their sweets. They would switch afterwards and do the washing up.

It got darker and darker outside. The barbeque had fizzled out by now and Liam ate the last marshmallow off his stick. He was lying on one of the deckchairs, looking up at the navy blue sky, where stars slowly started to appear. Corey and Mason had distanced themselves by going upstairs.

He looked up when he heard muffled footsteps coming his way—a pair of socks brushing against tiles. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Scott coming up to him, dressed in a hoody and shorts, his arms folded in front of his chest.

“It’s still really nice outside,” he said, looking up at the sky.

Liam hummed and Scott sat down into the chair that was next to Liam’s.

He tried to ignore the rapid pulse in his veins. It was crazy how quickly his body reacted from just being near Scott. The others were inside. It was just the two of them there and Liam’s fight or flight alarm kicked in. His first instinct told him to get up and leave, but he told himself to relax. If he wanted his head and his heart to get in synch, he needed to spend time with Scott, not run away. Besides, Liam had actually felt quite bad about what he had said that morning. But right when he was about to bring it up, Scott broke the silence.

“Are you okay?”

Liam couldn’t help but smile. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Oh,” Scott said, showing a dopey smile. “Well, if you tell me, I’ll tell you.”

Liam threw him a suspicious look from the corner of his eyes. “A little ‘I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours’?”

Scott’s forehead creased, taken off guard by Liam’s naughty joke. He chuckled. “I’m fine.”

Liam smirked, looking back up at the sky. The faint shades of blue that had been left earlier had almost completely faded. “Me too.”

Scott let out a quick puff of air through his nose. Something hung in the air between them, but Liam couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. Maybe they had both lied. Maybe neither of them was doing fine. But, to be honest, Liam did notice his heartbeat had gone back to normal, which was a good sign. Maybe saying he was fine made him feel fine.

Or maybe Corey’s words had actually changed his perspective a little and he was starting to feel less nervous around Scott. Maybe it was time to put that to the test.

He sucked in a breath, licking his lips. “I’m sorry about this morning,” he said. “I should’ve heard you out.”

Scott looked at him, frowning slightly. Then he turned onto his side, folding his hands under his cheek. Liam mimicked his motion and, funnily enough, they were in the exact same position as that morning.

“It’s okay,” Scott said. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“But I blew you off.”

Scott’s lips formed a thin line. They lied there looking at each other for a moment, which Liam actually found quite nice. He took the time to look at Scott, to _really_ look at him. He noticed how comfy he seemed in his hoody and how Liam wanted to crawl next to him. He saw how the light from inside the house casted a shadow on his face that accentuated his slightly uneven jawline. He remembered Scott’s bare chest that morning and how Liam had wanted to cuddle him. He looked at his eyes, which now weren’t glazed over like they had been the day before. Then his gaze fell to Scott’s lips and Liam realized how soft they looked. He shifted his attention to his own heartbeat, which was still going steady. His palms were a little damp, but the tension could be blamed for that. The voice in his head was quiet. Then he counted the amount of days they still had left together and the voice got louder. And Liam started to understand how his body had been communicating with him for all this time. It was clear what his heart wanted; Scott, but the walls his rational side would throw up had not been broken down yet.

“Can I come lie next to you?” Scott asked.

But maybe he could start picking at them.

Liam nodded, backing away. Scott got up and lied down next to him. There wasn’t much space on the chair, but somehow they had managed to situate themselves in a way that they weren’t touching.

Scott was slightly taller than Liam, so the boy had to look up if he wanted to look into his eyes. Scott was already peering down at him. Liam smiled. Scott smiled back. Their faces were only inches away from each other and Liam could feel Scott’s gentle breathing grazing his forehead.

“So what now?” Liam asked, when staring at one another had become somewhat awkward.

Scott shrugged. “I don’t know. I hadn’t planned this far ahead.”

That made Liam chuckle. It was actually quite comforting that Scott hadn’t. It made him feel less threatened. Not that Scott was the threatening kind, just that, since Liam liked Scott he constantly felt like something was going to happen …yeah. You get it.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Liam asked after a while.

Scott nodded. “Always.”

“Promise you won’t leave?”

“Never.”

“And you can’t freak out.”

“I won’t.”

“I just want to talk, okay?”

“Okay.”

“So don’t do anything else.”

Scott snickered. “What do you want to talk about?”

Liam’s eyes lowered. He bit down onto his bottom lip, because his heart had let up and told his mind what he was about to say, so the voice in his head was telling him to call it off. He could still run away…but he didn’t want to. For the first time, he wanted to be honest about his feelings. He wasn’t sure he wanted anything else to happen, though. He didn’t want to kiss Scott. He didn’t want to commit to him. Hell, he didn’t even know if he wanted him to _reply_. That was a plan. Maybe Scott could just lie there and let Liam do the talking and after he finished they could just continue to lie there, quietly, forever.

He briefly looked up to see if Scott was still listening, even though he hadn’t said anything yet. But of course Liam had Scott’s undivided attention, because that was Scott McCall. Scott McCall, jock. Captain of the lacrosse team (but not anymore!). Scott McCall, rock, safe haven, harbor and beacon of hope and light. Scott McCall, completely comfortable with lying half an inch away from you. Scott McCall, respectful enough not to touch you without your consent. The one who gave out hugs like red roses on Valentine’s Day.

“I like you,” Liam blurted out.

He carefully looked up, subconsciously playing with the string on Scott’s hoody. Scott’s smile had brightened.

“I like you too.”

“Oh.”

Liam’s eyes lowered again and he scrunched his face thoughtfully, as if Scott’s mutual confession had complicated things. He rolled the little knot on the end between his fingertips. “Right,” he said.

“Is that okay?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, no, of course,” Liam quickly answered. “That’s fine. I mean, thank you.”

Scott frowned ever so slightly, but nonetheless seemed quite amused. Liam doubted he had ever had a conversation like this before.

“So…” Scott mumbled.

“I’ve liked you for a while,” Liam admitted, now focusing as he played with Scott’s hoody. “For a long while. But you were with Kira.”

Scott nodded understandingly. “And then you were with Hayden.”

Liam’s face fell. “Yeah…”

“Are you still okay?”

“Hmhm.”

“Okay,” Scott said. He sounded content, which made Liam happy. The voice in his head had quieted down and for a split moment Liam thought the battle was over, but then Scott said something he had not seen coming. At all.

“I guess the others were right.”

Liam frowned. He dropped the string from his hands. Had he heard that correctly? He pushed himself up from the chair, leaning onto his hand as he caught Scott’s gaze.

“What do you mean?”

Scott sat up too, starting to look dismayed.

“They knew?” Liam asked. The voice in his head was back. “Since when?”

Scott seemed taken aback by the sudden turn the conversation had taken. He opened his mouth, but it took him a few attempts to finally form a coherent sentence. “I told them I liked you a few weeks ago,” he answered. “I… I didn’t think…”

Liam’s mind flashed back to when he had arrived. Lydia had offered him the airbed. Stiles had prompted him to stay in his and Scott’s room. Mason hadn’t said anything, even though he knew Liam had feelings for Scott. This morning, when Liam had come downstairs after he and Scott had been in their room just the two of them, everyone had been staring at him. Later in the swimming pool Stiles had asked if anyone else wanted something off their chest and, again, everyone had looked at him. And then there was his conversation with Corey, who had just brushed off the fact that he knew Liam liked Scott by saying he was merely observant. That lying snake. Just like that, everything fell into place.

From the moment Liam had set foot into Lydia’s house, they had all known, and they had all lied to him. Everything they had done and said had been a scheme to push him and Scott together.

That’s why no one had commented every time Liam came back after having walked off. They knew he had issues. They knew he was dealing with stuff. God, he felt like such an idiot! They probably had been talking behind his back every time he had left the room! They had played him like a fiddle and he had fallen for it. Even now, he had been the first one to admit to Scott that he liked him, not the other way around. Of course Scott wasn’t going to say it first, he didn’t want to risk getting rejected!

Liam’s head started to pound. Blood was rushing in his ears and he closed his eyes for a moment, knowing those were the first signs of an explosion. He tried to count in his head, but then Scott put a hand on his arm and broke Liam’s concentration. He broke away, elbowing the small wooden table behind him. Warm pain surged up his arm and he groaned.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked.

“No!” Liam shouted. “Of course I’m not okay! You lied to me! Everyone lied to me. Everyone knew but me!” His throat closed up, making it difficult to breathe. He realized he was on the verge of crying, which pissed him off even more. He wasn’t going to cry over this. He was upset. Angry. Not sad. “You all had it out for me the second I stepped through that door!”

He almost fell off the chair, trying to get up. There was clear concern in Scott’s eyes, which angered Liam even more. Everyone had pitied him. They all knew he had abandonment issues. Mason had probably told them when Scott had admitted he had feelings for Liam. That’s why they had left him in the dark, because they didn’t think Liam was ready for a relationship.

If Scott wasn’t sitting on that deck chair, he would have thrown it across the yard.

“Liam, just let me explain,” Scott said, now getting up as well. He reached out again, but Liam swatted his hand away. “It’s not what you think, I promise.”

“No! Leave me alone,” Liam shouted, backing away from him. He turned around, but froze when five pairs of eyes stared at him.

Mason, Corey, Stiles, Lydia and Malia were all stood in the door opening. Lydia had her hand folded over her chest, Mason was shaking his head, Corey’s eyes were wide open, Stiles averted his gaze and Malia looked unimpressed. Mortified, tears welled up in Liam’s eyes.

“Fuck you!” he shouted. “Fuck all of you!” He stepped forward and pushed them aside. Mason called his name and tried to grab his arm, but Liam shook him off and shoved him away. A loud bang echoed through the house as Mason’s back collided with the thick glass of the sliding door. But Liam didn’t hear it. Instead, he ran upstairs into Lydia’s room, threw himself on the bed, and started crying.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Liam woke up from cluttering noises in the kitchen. He had gone back downstairs when Mason and Corey had entered their bedroom last night. His best friend had of course tried to talk to him, but Liam was still upset, so instead he had gone down and slept on the sofa. The others had been halfway up the staircase as he descended, making him feel like he was doing a walk of shame.

He took his phone from the coffee table and checked the time. It was still early. He rubbed his eyes.

“Hey you,” Lydia said as she entered the living room. Her hands held two mugs and her voice was sweet. Liam quickly sat up and she sat down next to him.

“I thought…we could have a cup of tea together.” She handed him one of the mugs. “And have a little talk. Just the two of us.”

Her hair was still a little messy and she was wearing her pajamas. She smiled gently as Liam blew on his tea. The steam that came off smelled of oranges and cinnamon.

“So what happened yesterday?” Lydia asked after a while, figuring Liam wasn’t going to start the conversation himself.

He scoffed. “What? Like Scott hasn’t told you?”

Lydia moved her leg under her. One of her elbows was resting on the back of the sofa. “He has,” she answered. “But there are two sides to every story.”

Liam hadn’t expected her to flat out admit it that Scott had told, but appreciated her honesty. At least Lydia was being real with and actually gave him a chance to explain.

“I told him I like him,” Liam said.

Lydia nodded.

“He said he likes me too.”

“Hmhm.”

Liam smiled bitterly. “I feel so stupid,” he said. “Why didn’t any of you tell me?”

“Because it’s not our place to tell,” she explained, frowning ever so slightly.

The boy pulled a face. “Yeah, right. But it’s Mason’s place to tell you all that I have abandonment issues.”

Lydia’s face softened. She smiled gently and tilted her head a little. It took a few seconds, but then it dawned on him.

“You didn’t know.”

Lydia shook her head once, pulling an awkward face. “Nope.”

It was then that Liam realized he had messed up. He had made assumptions the second Scott let off he had told his friends and there had been no stopping him. His IED had immediately been triggered and Liam had become unable to reason with. He rubbed his face, scratching his cheeks.

“I messed up, didn’t I?”

Lydia chuckled softly.

His hands moved up and rubbed his forehead, meeting Lydia’s gaze. “I’m so sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she said, touching his hand for a brief moment. “But you have some explaining to do.”

Liam nodded. “I know. I just…” He was still half-processing what had happened yesterday and slowly everything started to make sense. “I’m scared.”

Lydia’s face turned more serious. “What are you scared of?”

“That he’ll leave,” Liam answered, his voice trailing off.

“Ah,” Lydia nodded. “That explains. Because Hayden left.”

“And my dad did,” Liam said. “And Kira left, and so did Scott’s dad, and didn’t your boyfriend move to London at some point?”

“Okay, okay, I think I understand where you’re coming from,” she said. “But you’re focusing on the bad. It doesn’t always have to be that way.”

“Maybe not,” Liam said, scratching his mug. He could feel tears starting to burn behind his eyes again. “But Scott is definitely going away…” He bit down onto his bottom lip. “And when he does, it will hurt…”

“Oh, honey,” Lydia said. She took his mug from his hands and put it down with hers on the table. She wrapped her arms around Liam’s shoulders and pulled him close. Liam sniffed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice sounding a little hoarse. “I didn’t mean to make such a mess.”

Lydia rubbed his back and kissed the side of his head. “I know. But you need to talk about what your feelings.”

Liam sighed. “I have. I talk to Mason about it all the time. He knows. And I even told Corey yesterday.”

Lydia pulled away, catching Liam’s eyes. She held his face in her hands and wiped a tear off his cheek. “I’m not talking about them.”

Liam understood she was referring to Scott, but to be honest, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that yet. Not after what had happened last night. He was too ashamed. But another part of him didn’t want to disappoint Lydia.

The living room door opened quietly and Mason and Corey poked their head around the corner.

“Can we come in?” Mason asked.

Before Liam could answer, Lydia told them it was fine. The boys sat down on the sofa across from them, cuddling up to each other. Liam wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and sniffed again, unable to look them in the eye.

“You okay?” Mason asked.

“Yeah, fine,” Liam answered, picking up his mug and taking a sip of tea.

Mason nodded. Liam remembered what he had done to him. He had ignored his attempt to help him and shoved him against the door instead. That was the worst thing about having an episode; the embarrassment afterwards. That Liam would have to face all the people he had hurt and needed to apologize. It felt so stupid to say that he didn’t have any control over his emotions when he got like that, but it was the truth. He never would have hurt Mason or have told them all to ‘fuck off’ if he hadn’t been beside himself with rage. Of course he wouldn’t have. These people were his friends.

“Ugh, look at them,” Lydia said, pulling Liam out of his thoughts.

Mason and Corey were pressed against one another other, their fingers toying around in their laps. Corey occasionally pecked a kiss onto Mason’s cheek, who on his turn leaned into the touch, smiling.

“You two are so cute!” Lydia squealed. She got up. “I really can’t stand it. I just have to…” She went over and pressed a kiss onto each their cheeks. “Mwah! Mwah! Ugh. So adorable. Alright, come on Coco, let’s have a shower and give these two a moment,” she said, taking Corey’s hand and pulling him out of the living room. Corey let himself be swept away, giving a quick wave.

When the door shut behind them, Mason and Liam chuckled.

“She sure is something,” Mason said.

Liam nodded, staring after them. “She definitely is.”

Silence fell between them and Mason smacked his lips. “So…”

“I’m sorry about last night,” Liam said. “Really, I am. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I shouldn’t have said those things, I’m sorry. I just…I lost it…”

Mason seemed satisfied with that apology, however short, because he smiled and got to come and sit next to his friend.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I get it. You know I get it.”

Liam sighed in relief. He was lucky with a friend like Mason. Really lucky. Not a lot of people were as forgiving as he was. Over the years, Liam had lost a lot of friends due to IED. But not Mason, he had always stuck by him.

“Lydia think I need to talk to Scott,” Liam explained.

“Right,” Mason replied. “And what do you think?”

“I think that I don’t want to.”

“Liam…”

“Okay fine,” the boy grumbled, finishing his tea. “I know I have to. And I’m going to.”

The stern look that had appeared across Mason’s face softened. “Good.”

“But what if he doesn’t want to talk to me?” Liam asked, scrunching his nose.

Mason cocked his head. “Really? This is Scott we’re talking about. He’ll want to.”

“Yeah…okay.”

“Do you want to do it now?”

“Now?”

“Why not?”

Liam stammered something that weren’t words. He hadn’t expected for it to be so soon. Surely he would need some time to prepare what he was going to say, didn’t he? Mason couldn’t just expect him to go up there and explain everything. He needed a speech, some confidence.

A lot of confidence.

“Hey,” Mason said. He had fished out his phone from his sweatpants from and held it to his ear. “Yeah, yeah, you can stop complaining now. Listen, I just need you to go into Lydia’s room. Yes, you can sleep there too.”

Liam frowned, baffled as to what was going.

“Stiles is leaving the bedroom, so you and Scott can be alone. Don’t worry, he understands,” Mason said.

Liam’s eyes widened. Okay, so apparently this was really happening. He started blabbering again, but Mason had stood up and was now pulling on his arm to get him off the sofa.

“Come on, up you go,” Mason said.

“But what if-”

“Nope, we’re done. It’s time. You’re ready. I know you are. Come on. Get that ass into gear.”

Finally, Liam caved, even though he still wasn’t a hundred percent convinced. But after all, Mason was his best friend and he knew he could trust him, so Liam sucked in a deep breath and got up. His friend patted him on the back as he walked past him. Liam closed the living room door behind him and walked across the hall, stepping onto the staircase. For a moment, he hesitated again. Maybe he couldn’t do it. He had already talked to Lydia _and_ to Mason this morning. That was two apologies in a row. Wasn’t that enough?

But if the past two days had shown anything, it was that there was no avoiding Scott. Not even in Lydia’s mansion. That meant he had to see him at some point today and the prospect of _that_ awkward situation, of seeing Scott without having talked to him, made him ascended the stairs.

When he was stood in front of the door, he took another deep breath. He reached for the handle, counted to three, and opened it. As expected, Scott was still in bed, but Stiles’ side had been vacated.

Scott rubbed his eyes. “Hey,” he said groggily.

Liam stepped closer, his hands folded behind his back. He didn’t really know how to start. Scott was still in the process of waking up, but didn’t let Liam out of his sight. He waited patiently.

“I don’t have a speech,” Liam explained.

Scott snorted. “Okay.”

Liam nodded. He rocked himself on the balls of his heels. What Scott couldn’t see was that he was tugging on the sleeves of his shirt nervously. “Can I…” He swallowed. His cheeks felt hot. He didn’t think he had ever been this nervous in his life. Knowing that he would have to explain himself to Scott terrified him. Liam glanced at the door and then back at Scoot and he knew there wasn’t a way out now. Even if he would be able to run out of the room, once he would get downstairs Mason would immediately send him back up again. He wouldn’t be surprised if his friend had followed him and was already blocking the door by now.

“Can I come lie next to you?” Liam finally asked.

Scott smiled and nodded, opening the covers. He retracted his legs and Liam crawled in. They lied down facing each other again.

“So what now?” Scott asked goofily.

A grin pulled on the corners of Liam’s mouth, seeing where this was going. “I don’t know. I hadn’t planned this far.”

Scott nodded, his smile broadening as well. “Can I talk to you about something?” he asked.

Liam rolled his eyes.

“Always.”

“Promise you won’t leave?”

Liam’s cheeks darkened. “Never.”

Scott chuckled. “And you can’t freak out.”

Liam realized he was going to extort this to the bitter end. He sighed deeply, moving further under the covers. “I won’t.”

“I just want to talk, so no shouting.”

“Okay.”

“And no punching.”

 Liam groaned. “Fine! I get it.”

“I like you,” Scott said. His face had softened and had turned a little more genuine.

Liam closed his eyes for a brief moment. He licked his lips.

“I like you too.”

Scott smiled, he moved one of his hands out from under his pillow and placed it in between them on the mattress. Liam could hold it if he wanted to, but he wasn’t sure if he did.

“Do you want to talk about last night?” Scott asked.

Liam found it an odd question, because of course he did. That was the whole reason he was there and surely Scott knew that.

But his mind settled down when he said, “I do.” And he was reminded that it helped to say things out loud. It was the little push he needed. “I’m sorry for freaking out,” he said.

Scott continued to smile. Liam could tell he was already proud of him, which made him blush even more.

“I really do like you,” Liam said. “Honestly. But I… I haven’t really told you everything.”

Scott moved a little closer. His fingers lightly tapped the bed, but Liam still wasn’t ready.

He took a deep breath, because the next part was very straight forward and, he knew, very harsh, and he the only thing he could do was hope that Scott wouldn’t get upset.

“I’m not sure if I want to be with you,” Liam admitted.

Scott’s eyebrows moved up. “Oh, okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Scott quickly assured him. “I just didn’t see that one coming.”

“I’m sorry,” Liam apologized again.

“Do you want to explain why?” Scott tried.

Liam bit his lip. He could already feel the familiar lump in his throat grow. By now he had said it out loud three times, but it still hadn’t gotten any easier. He met Scott’s eyes with his own and saw the same concern in them as he had seen yesterday, which made him feel even worse. It was then that he realized how in love he actually was. He really wanted to be with this guy, but he just couldn’t get over that stupid fear. His throat was really starting to hurt now and his eyes were burning.

“Hey…” Scott whispered, visibly growing more and more worried. His hand moved and placed itself onto the side of Liam’s head, rubbing across the outline of his sideburn. “Tell me.”

Liam closed his eyes and sank into his touch for a moment. The friendly and caring tone in Scott’s voice was killing him and in that moment he knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop this. That voice in his head could continue to shout at him, but it wasn’t going to make a difference, because Liam was breaking.

“I don’t like it that you’re leaving,” he said, choking on the words mid-sentence. “Everyone always leaves and I… I don’t want to be with someone who’s going to leave me.”

“Liam…” Scott applied pressure to his fingertips, sliding through his hair.

“No…” Liam said, shaking his head. The tears that rolled from his eyes itched his nose. He pressed his face into the pillow to wipe them off. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get rid of that feeling.”

Scott’s face fell. Not out of hurt, but out of sympathy. Liam could tell the guy was genuinely feeling for him and Liam wanted to tell him how sorry he was, but he couldn’t. He tried to swallow around the lump in his throat, but instead continued to cry. It had gotten too much. The past two days had been so intense and he had had so much to deal with. He couldn’t do it anymore. He was done. Really done, because now Scott knew, which meant he had destroyed everything.

“Come here,” Scott said softly. Liam closed his eyes, but he could feel the guy move closer towards him. Liam shook his head, but didn’t say anything. Instead he let Scott scoop him up into his arms. Liam hid his face against his chest, trying to stifle his crying. Scott’s fingers continued to card through his hair, telling him that it was okay in quiet whispers.

They stayed like that until Liam had caught his breath again. He felt hot now and pulled away slightly. Scott let him, but Liam’s head remained on his arm and Scott’s other hand was on his side.

“I’m sorry,” Liam squeaked. He had lost track of what he was apologizing for—if it was for not wanting to be in a relationship with Scott or for the crying.

“It’s okay,” Scott repeated again. “You’ve really been struggling with this, haven’t you?”

Liam’s bottom lip started to tremble again. He quickly caught it between his teeth. “Yeah…”

“I’m sorry that you felt like you couldn’t talk to me about it,” Scott said.

Liam wiped his eyes. “It’s not… It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”

“But you thought I did, didn’t you? Last night?”

Liam nodded. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “I thought you had told everyone that you like me and that Mason had told all of you that I like you, but that I was struggling with my abandonment issues. That’s why I thought none of you had said anything to me.”

“We would never do that.”

“I know,” Liam replied. “But I can’t think clearly when I get like that.”

Scott nodded. He moved the hand he had on Liam’s side to his face and carefully stroked his cheek with his thumb. Liam took hold of his upper arm.

“The others did know I liked you,” Scott then admitted. “I told them, but that’s because I tell them everything.”

“I figured,” Liam said. “And I’m not angry that you did.”

“But you have to know that Mason didn’t tell me anything about you. He would never do that.”

Liam showed a broken smile. “I know that too.”

Scott nodded. “Okay then.” He pulled Liam into another tight hug. The boy relaxed into his touch, closing his eyes. Scott’s skin was soft and warm, not sweaty warm like people sometimes get in the morning, but nice warm.

Scott McCall, personal teddy bear.

They lied like that for a while, hugging each other. But Liam knew they couldn’t stay like that forever. He also knew there was still one question that had thus far been left unanswered. He wondered if Scott had the courage to bring it up, but he doubted it. Knowing Scott, he didn’t want to ask, because it would have sounded too selfish.

But Liam knew he owed it to him.

“What do you think we should do?”

Scott let out a deep breath. “That’s up to you,” he said. “I want to spend with you, but I completely get it if it’s too much.”

Liam swallowed. He did want to be with Scott, but he didn’t want to be with him for four weeks. He didn’t want their relationship to be a ticking time bomb. Then again, he also didn’t want that for their friendship, but he couldn’t deny that that’s what it felt like. The only thing left would be to let it blow up right now, just to get it over with, and for Liam to go home. But he didn’t want that either.

“Hey,” Scott said, tightening his grip. “This is about you. You decide.”

Liam felt awful for having to say it, but he knew he had to. It was bittersweet, but it was the truth.

“I think I need to work out my issues first,” he said.

Scott squeezed him. “I think that’s a good idea.” Liam could hear he was smiling from the way he spoke.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked.

“Of course not,” Scott answered. “You’re my friend. I want you to get better. And it’s not like I can’t help.”

Liam frowned, moving his head so he could look up. “What do you mean?”

Scott grinned. “I’m going to show you I’ll always be here for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Curious what inspired this story? Look up the next song (also works as a little sneak peak):  
>  **Lady Antebellum - Long Teenage Goodbye**


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